A strong, magnitude 6.5 earthquake off the coast of Northern California left thousands without power and was felt as far away as Oregon and central California, according to the Associated Press and USGS.

[efoods]The quake, which struck at 4:27 p.m. PST Jan. 9 about 22 miles northwest of Ferndale, CA, sent people running into the streets while buildings shook and power lines snapped, cutting power to several coastal communities.

Eight aftershocks followed in the three hours after the temblor, the strongest of which occurred in the same general area at 6:21 p.m. PST with a magnitude of 4.5, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The quake hit at a depth of nearly 10 miles about 27 miles offshore from the coastal city of Eureka, CA, the USGS said. Eureka, which has a population of about 26,000, is located roughly 270 miles north of San Francisco.